Help me give my students the opportunity to take advantage of the fact that they live in the greatest city in the world with free admittance into countless world-famous cultural institutions.
I teach at a school in Brooklyn which serves students from one of the largest public housing complexes in NYC. For the past 2 years, my Title I school was able to partner with the Cool Culture program through a DonorsChoose.org proposal that was fully funded. (Thanks, guys!) The Cool Culture program provides Pre-K and Kindergarten families with personalized Cool Culture cards, which they may use to visit over 90 museums and cultural institutions throughout NYC for an entire year! Naturally, the feedback that I have received from families about the Cool Culture program has been tremendously positive. If you don't live in the NYC area, let me just tell you that winters here are very long and cold; and if you have kids, it can be quite a challenge to find quality, affordable activities for them during these seemingly endless months. Countless parents have told me that the Cool Culture card saved them over the winter holiday break, as well as the February week off from school.
Title I schools are entitled to partner with Cool Culture, and I would love to see this program back for a third year at our school.
My Project
The Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum is one of the institutions that many families at my school tell me they are most excited to visit. I recently looked on the Intrepid's website to see how much it would cost for a family of four to visit the Intrepid without a Cool Culture card. Adult tickets are listed as $33, and tickets for children are only slightly less at $24 each. This means that it would cost a steep $114 for a family of four to visit the Intrepid, and that is the cost without factoring in food and transportation! As a parent, I know that when people visit cultural institutions with kids, they are most often not planning on spending the day there, as that is just impossible with kids due to nap schedules, and just due to where kids' attention spans are at that point in their development. The Cool Culture card makes it possible for families to visit a museum or a zoo for a few hours, and then go on with their day, not feeling like they overspent or didn't get their "money's worth". This card can make the difference of someone choosing to take their kids out for the day or to just skip it because it just seems like too much money to spend for such a short amount of time. As students at a Title I school, my students need the benefits of the Cool Culture card, and it is my goal to make that available to them year after year. Thank you for your interest, and for your support of public education.
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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